


I Don’t Know Where and I Don’t Know When

by Elri



Category: Wonder Woman (Movies - Jenkins), Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 09:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26969989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elri/pseuds/Elri
Summary: In a world where, until you find your soulmate, your life is a long game of Hot or Cold, Sami has been cold for a long time
Relationships: Charlie/Sameer (Wonder Woman), Diana (Wonder Woman)/Steve Trevor, Etta Candy/Original Female Character, Wonder Squad
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	I Don’t Know Where and I Don’t Know When

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oopsabird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oopsabird/gifts).



> Happy Birthday Liv!
> 
> Title is from Heart's On Fire by Passenger, per the birthday friend's recommendation

Fuck Sami hated the cold. 

He'd been cold his entire life. It had been worse back home, when not even the hot Moroccan sun and his heavy coat could drive it out. According to all known research, that meant his soulmate was in another country. When he was little, he’d dreamed of joining a troupe and jet setting around the world until the cold disappeared. Well, it had partially come true. He'd started in London and stuck around, finding a theater company he loved. 

A few years later, when he realized he’d started sweating a little under the bright lights, he’d almost broken down crying in relief right there on stage. His soulmate was closer. 

* * *

That had been almost two years ago. 

Though the itch had been strong, Sami hadn’t gone running all over England trying to play an elaborate game of hot and cold. He didn’t fault the people who chose to do that, but privately he felt like that was missing the point of fate. They would find each other when it was time. 

_And that time can’t come soon enough_ , Sami thought to himself as he shivered a little. 

Steve’s face twisted a little from where he sat across their café table, fighting the instinct to give Sami a pitying look. The worst part was it was actually a nice day in London, and a lot of people were out and about enjoying –or trying to enjoy- the sunshine. Of course, Sami wasn’t the only one still in a jacket, but it was more noticeable now who wasn’t still chilled. Even Steve was taking advantage of not needing his layers anymore. 

It was very strange seeing Steve in short sleeves. He'd met his soulmate last week, coming back from a job in Turkey. Apparently, there’d been a complication with his flight and he’d ended up needing to catch a connection in Greece. Being dead tired and more than a little stressed, Steve hadn’t realized how much warmer he was getting until he’d stepped onto the plane and felt a wave of heat wash over him. Then, as Steve described it, the most beautiful woman in the world had walked up to him and smiled, and he’d suddenly understood every swooning damsel in cheesy romance novels. Based on the dopey, love-struck look Steve got whenever he talked about Diana, Sami believed it. 

Speaking of, Steve’s face had just lit up as he glanced over Sami’s shoulder, which probably meant Diana had arrived. Sami stood and turned as Steve headed over to greet her, pulling off one of his gloves to shake her hand. 

“Sami, this is Diana Prince. Diana, meet Sameer Nejem.” 

Diana smiled and held out her hand, “It’s very nice to meet you, Steve’s told me so much.” 

“And you as well, though mere words do not do you justice.” Sami took her hand and lightly kissed it on the knuckles, giving her a wink. “You are a very lucky woman, Ms. Prince, and Steve is clearly a very lucky man. Please, have a seat.” 

Steve rolled his eyes with a smile as Sami pulled out a chair for Diana with a flourish. He’d probably warned Diana ahead of time. “Shameless, Sami, absolutely shameless.” 

“But of course, mon ami. So tell me, Diana, what brings you to London? Of the many things Steve has told me, somehow that managed to slip his mind.” 

“My family partnered with the museum for a practical weapons demonstration. They’re doing a special exhibit on different forms of combat, and we have a long legacy of teaching the old-fashioned techniques, including from horseback.” 

“Please tell me you will be riding a horse through the museum.” 

Diana laughed, “You’re not the first person to say that. Sadly no, my mother, as well as the museum directors, were not convinced of the educational benefits. Antiope and I tried, though. She was going to fly out with me but sprained her ankle right before we were supposed to leave and her wife refused to let her go.” 

“Thank goodness we were not deprived of your company, at least.” 

Steve hummed in agreement, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. “Plus, it meant we got to spend the plane ride without her family hanging over our shoulder.” 

“Just Chief,” Diana said. “He acted as the museum representative,” She explained to Sami, “So he filmed our demonstration videos, then came back out to help make sure my weapons and I arrived without issue. He was an amazing director, and he’d become a good friend.” 

“Great guy,” Steve agreed, “Traded seats with me when he found out Diana and I were soulmates. I think you’d like him.” 

“Why don’t you come to the exhibit opening?” Diana offered. “I have guest tickets.” 

“I can’t wait,” Sami told her, grinning. “If nothing else, I would love to see your family’s legacy. Even if there isn’t a horse.” 

She laughed, “Remind me to introduce you to Charlie. He was very disappointed about the horse as well. If he’d known sooner, he might’ve been able to talk them into allowing it, he’s very stubborn. He's planning on wearing his kilt, even though he’s always muttering about the cold.” 

“Brave man,” Sami said, raising his glass in a partial toast. “I look forward to that as well, then.” 

* * *

The night of the opening, Sami was dressed to the nines and feeling fine. He’d saved up for a good while to get a nice tux that fit well and loved every excuse he got to break it out. The gloves he wore with it were plain looking but had a thin wool lining that provided extra warmth. All around him were people dressed in their finest outfits, in a variety of styles. In the back of his mind, Sami briefly enjoyed the feeling like he was a spy infiltrating the premises to pull off a daring heist. What? He's an actor. 

“Sami!” A familiar voice cut through the fantasy. Sami turned and smiled as he saw Etta heading over to him. Her dark blue gown wonderfully complimented her red curls, and the white wrap over her shoulders added that little extra touch. 

“Bonsoir, Madame!” Sami greeted her with a bow and kiss to her knuckles. “Radiant as ever. Is your lovely wife joining us as well?” 

“Sadly no, she was called out of town last minute. But she insisted I come, said she wanted to me enjoy myself at the very least since we helped sponsor the exhibit.” 

“More’s the pity, from what I've heard it’s going to be a wonderful event.” He held out his arm to her, “Would you do me the honor of allowing me to escort you this evening, Madame Candy?” 

Etta laughed and swatted his side as she tucked her arm into his, “One of these days, Mr. Nejem, that flirtatious mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble.” 

“And when it does I will call you so you can say ‘I told you so.’ Allons y!” 

They caught up with Steve easily enough. He was standing near the entrance with a tall man he introduced as Chief and he was bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet as they waited for the ribbon cutting. 

“Just wait till you see her,” Steve said, getting that dopey, dreamy look in his eyes again. “God she’s incredible.” 

Chief nodded his agreement, smiling slightly. “All of the people who came together to be a part of this have been amazing; I'm very happy I got to work directly with so many of them, the Themyscira family included.” 

“Have you met Steve’s future mother-in-law then?” Sami asked. 

“Yes. She's an imposing woman, as a leader and as a fighter.” Chief clapped a hand onto Steve’s shoulder. “I wish you luck.” 

Steve glared at Sami and Etta as they snickered, but the effect was dimmed by the slight paleness that suddenly inhabited his face. He was denied the chance to respond by the museum director starting her opening announcements. Just a short while later, the ribbon was cut and the crowd moved in. Sami and Etta followed Steve, presumably towards Diana, while Chief stopped to talk with some of the other demonstrators he’d worked with. 

Glancing around, Sami saw people dressed in various armaments standing among glass display cases and arrays of screens. The videos playing on the screens showed the weapons in the cases in use, both in training and simulated combat situations. He wasn’t able to get a good look at any of them as Etta and Steve kept moving but Sami could already see how much work had been put into this exhibit. 

Moving into one of the larger rooms, Steve headed straight towards an already gathering crowd. Sami could just make out Diana’s head, adorned with a tiara, as she greeted the people who’d come to see her family’s legacy. With Steve leading the way they were able to cut through the crowd without too much difficulty and damn was Diana impressive. From the faintly whispered “Oh be still my heart” from Etta, Sami was inclined to believe she agreed. 

“Welcome,” Diana said when she’d finished with the people she was speaking with. “What do you think of the exhibit?” 

“Not gonna lie,” Steve told her softly, “I wasn’t really looking. I'll visit everyone else later, I had priorities.” 

“Were you this bad at first?” Sami quietly asked Etta. 

“Have you met my wife?” Etta whispered back, “Absolutely.” 

They stayed and talked with Diana a little longer, promising to come back for her demonstration, before letting her get back to the public. She pointed them in the direction of Charlie’s exhibit but, since apparently he was running late, they split up to head towards others that had caught their eye. 

Sami made his way back to the front with the intention of making his way down and around. He'd just caught up with Chief again when the temperature in the room skyrocketed. Almost immediately, his hands and face were damp with sweat. The abrupt heat pressed down on him, making him lightheaded, and he stumbled a bit. Thankfully, Chief was quick and got an arm around him before he could collapse. Sami was vaguely aware of them moving through the crowd, not really taking in any of the faces or sounds. They passed through a set of doors and all the sound was muffled except for Chief instructing him to take deep breaths. 

Chief helped Sami lean up against the wall and loosened his bowtie and collar before pulling off Sami’s gloves. “I’m going to find one of the others and get you some water. Just stay here, sit down if you need to, and keep taking deep breaths. It’s okay, Sami, you’re okay.” 

Sami gave him a nod to acknowledge he’d heard, then allowed himself to slide down the wall a little more as Chief hurried off. Looking around, Chief had brought him to a back hallway lined with some catering carts and a few crates that were presumably for the demonstrations later. The heat was still making his head spin though so he shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. 

“Y’alright there, mate?” 

“Yeah, fine,” Sami replied automatically, opening his eyes to see who’d found him. 

Down towards the other end of the hall was a tall, thin man in Highland dress, with a long dagger sheathed at his waist. He was patting at his own head and neck with a handkerchief as he walked over. 

“You must be Charlie.” The man gave him a confused look. “Diana mentioned you.” 

“Aye,” Charlie gave him a wry smile, “You must be Sami then. She told me you were askin’ about a horse. Everythin’ alright?” 

“I think so I just...” Sami trailed off as he realized the cold, a cold that had been etched into his bones for as long as he could remember, was gone. “Merde sacrée.” 

“Here,” Charlie pulled a second handkerchief from the pouch hanging around his waist next to a pair of gloves that had been tucked into the belt. “Glad I brought two.” 

“Merci.” As Sami took it, their fingers brushed, and the oppressive heat lifted. “ _Oh....”_

“Sweet mercy,” Charlie whispered. He took another step forward, a small, slow step. “Are you...?” 

“I believe I am.” Sami grinned at him. “It’s very nice to meet you, Charlie.” 

“Aye.” Charlie stepped a little closer, then let himself be drawn in by Sami taking his hand. 

Chief, of course, returned at that moment, Etta and Steve in tow. They all caught on to what was happening fairly quickly and all the needed introductions were made. There wasn’t time to stay and chat, unfortunately, as Charlie still had to report to the Scotland exhibit. Sami stopped by for the demonstration and watched as Charlie pulled multiple blades, including the dirk, out of their sheaths. 

“Bein’ ambidextrous,” Charlie explained to the audience, throwing Sami a wink, “Dressed like this I can effectively carry at least five blades on me at any time. If I doubled up on the dirks, I could do six, but that’s just a wee bit much.” He went on to name the other weapons, show where each one was kept, and give a few examples of how it might be brought into conflict. Sami absorbed... at least a third of it. Etta and Steve had to pull him away after to see Diana’s presentation, then dragged him around to the others so that Charlie could get something done without distraction. 

“As soon as the evening is over you can go be sickeningly enamored with him all night long,” Etta told him, “But right now he needs to work. That goes for you too, Steve Trevor. Come give people other than your soulmates some appreciation for the work they’ve done.” 

* * *

Eventually, finally, the evening drew to a close and people started heading out into the night. Sami waited on the museum steps for everyone else to wrap up. He’d dressed down to his shirt sleeves with the cuffs rolled up to his elbows. Some of the warmth from the day lingered, and he basked in the contrast between the night air and the stone underneath him. 

“Enjoy the exhibit?” 

Sami turned and saw Charlie coming out of the museum. His jacket was draped over one arm as he rolled up the shirtsleeve on the other, cap in hand revealing a shock of red hair. _Of course_ , Sami thought to himself with a smile, _my_ _fiery_ _soulmate._

When the first sleeve was finished, Charlie switched the jacket and the cap and started rolling the other, glancing at Sami with a curious tilt to his head. Oh yeah, there’d been a question. 

“It was all very impressive. You and the others did a magnificent job.” Sami stood and moved closer to Charlie, a little hesitant to push too far now that the initial rush of discovery had passed. But Charlie just took a step closer, blushing a little under Sami’s gaze. 

“Aye, well, a lot of smart people put the whole thing together, I just had to show up.” 

“And show off,” Sami teased a little, thinking back to the way Charlie had casually tossed and caught both of his smaller blades. 

The blush darkened a shade. “Right, I mean, maybe a little. Are you hungry?” Charlie changed the subject, reaching up to undo his tie. “I'm famished, and there’s a place nearby open all hours if you wanted to, maybe-” 

“I’d love to.” 

“Right. Good. Excellent.” Charlie gestured in the direction and they set off. 

Sami let his fingers brush against Charlie’s, testing the waters. In response, Charlie tucked his fingers over Sami’s hand. They ended up pressed shoulder to shoulder as they walked down the sidewalk, sharing their warmth to make up for the long years of cold. 


End file.
